1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a medical laser treatment device for irradiating a diseased part with laser light to be treated, and a laser probe for such a device. More particularly, the invention relates to a medical laser treatment device useful in fields such as dentistry, dental surgery, and otolaryngology, and a laser probe useful for such a device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, laser light is used for treatments such as coagulation, blood stanching, evaporation, and incision on a diseased part, conducting an analgesic action, or for polymerization of a material containing a photopolymerizing agent applied to a diseased part. A medical laser treatment device using laser light comprises a handpiece having a handpiece body to be grasped by an operator, and a laser probe to be attached to a tip end of the handpiece body; a laser light source for generating laser light; a fluid source for supplying a fluid such as water; a light transmission member for guiding the laser light emitted from the laser light source to the handpiece; and a fluid supply passage through which the fluid is supplied from the fluid source to the handpiece body. The laser probe includes a fiber probe. An incidence face is formed at one end of the fiber probe, and an emission face at the other end. Laser light transmitted from the laser light source through the light transmission member impinges on the incidence face of the fiber probe to travel in the fiber probe, and is then emitted from the emission face toward a diseased part. The fluid supplied from the fluid source through the fluid supply passage is sprayed toward the diseased part which is irradiated with the laser light, as required.
When such a medical laser treatment device of the prior art is used in a treatment, particularly in a dental treatment, the action of treatment must be conducted in a mouth while using the fiber probe. In a mouth, the space which is available for such a treatment is extremely restricted. Therefore, there is a problem in that, depending on the position of a diseased part, it becomes very difficult to irradiate the diseased part with laser light.
In order to solve this problem, for example, a handpiece 302 as shown in FIG. 21 is proposed. In the proposed handpiece 302, a part of a fiber probe 304 is curved. When the fiber probe 304 having such a curved part is used, the fiber probe can be easily inserted into a narrower space as compared with a case of the prior art, such as a gap formed between adjacent teeth.
Therefore, the treatment range is widened particularly in the field of dentistry.
However, the fiber probe 304 having such a curved part is not satisfactorily used in the field of dentistry or the like.
When a diseased part is in the branched root bottom, root surface and occlusal surface of a molar, in adjacent surfaces of adjacent teeth, or on the distal side surface and cheek side surface of a periodontal pocket or a molar, for example, the diseased part can not be irradiated with laser light from the front of the emission face of the fiber probe, thereby producing a problem that the laser treatment cannot be performed in a sufficiently effective manner.
Furthermore, there is another problem that, when laser irradiation is performed by using the fiber probe 304 having the curved part, the position of the curved part or the degree of the radius of curvature of the curved part may cause a problem that laser light having nonuniform energy is emitted from the emission face of the fiber probe 304.